Paglia vs. Postman

As a student of media and communication, I am expected to sustain the utmost detachment from the world in order to incite critical analysis of the environment I live in. Many would argue that it was print medium that allowed me to obtain such a skill; and furthermore, that the preference of television and other visual media over the written word may have hindered this process. Neil Postman has stated, “Television, with its random, unconnected images, works against the linear tradition and breaks the habits of logic and thinking” (Postman & Paglia 283) Well, Neil, I could not disagree with you more. Camille Paglia presents a point of view I relate to much more, “Watching TV has nothing to do with thought or analysis.” (Postman & Paglia 289)

Harper’s Magazine had the chance to witness some dinner conversation between these two conflicting theorists. The arguments posed by each made for some intriguing intellectual discourse. The major point asserted by Paglia is that a new literacy (visual literacy) has emerged from the traditional form of literacy (print literacy). As is apparent in his above statement, Postman fully disagrees. He would not call visual literacy a form of literacy at all; moreover, if this new literacy does exist, Postman believes it is robbing people of traditional literacy and the decline in favor of print media cannot at all be beneficial.

Postman, who is stricken by a pre-WWII upbringing, consistently criticizes television, but Paglia defends her argument for visual literacy making points such as, “Watching television…[is] a passive but highly efficient process of storing information to be used later.” (Postman & Paglia 289) Further, to refute Postman’s criticism of visual literacy as not literacy due to lack of cognition, Paglia argues information is still drawn from visual media; however, the process is more sensorimotor than cognitive. She states:

“It’s like the...driver cruising down the interstate at high speed, always scanning the field, looking for the drunk, the hot rod, the police…None of these people…is thinking. They’re only reading the field and working by instinct, deciding in an instant where to ….steer the jet or car. The decision is made by intuition, not by ratiocination.” (Postman & Paglia 289).

I would tend to agree with Paglia. A new literacy has emerged out of the traditional literacy, and this literacy encompasses our use of visual media. This literacy is real and we must note that the next generation of adults, the millennials, will be constantly relying on the technology available to make societal advances. It’s increasingly apparent that visual literacy is dominating the media sector and the use of print media is in decline; however, I’m not too sure this is such a bad thing. An experiment was conducted at the University of Toronto testing levels of learning through the use of different media to convey lecture material. The results showed students who viewed lecture on television did the best, while, students who read the lecture manuscript did the worst. One may ask are these results valid. Are they displaying an absolute fact that humans truly learn better visually, through the context of television, or rather are these results demonstrating a trend in the decrease in print literacy? Has the use of print media decreased so much that these students could not pick up the blatantly diminishing slack? I believe the answer, though slightly irrelevant, is obvious.

Works Cited
Postman, Neil and Paglia, Camille. "Two cultures—Television versus print." In D. Crowley and P Heyer (Eds.). Communication in history: Technology, Culture, Society. 5th Ed. New York: Pearson Education, Inc. 283-295.

Peace, Love
Evan

One of My Favorites

A Bitter Taste: A Brief Analysis of Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt

Jon Lewis, in American Film, argues the film Shadow of a Doubt embodies the fight to preserve the ideal small-town life. He describes the film as a sort of self-discovery piece in which the protagonist, a young heroine – Charlie – yearns for reprieve from her small-town prison; yet, after unearthing a murder mystery centered on her demented uncle, she ultimately decides to defend the ideals which she previously despised. (Lewis 167) Lewis further expresses his belief in a possible metaphorical connection to the fight occurring overseas in World War II. (Lewis 167) Robin Wood on the other hand finds the film to be subversive to middle class values and the small-town family ideal. Though he does suggest that Hitchcock may have not totally slandered these ideals, he states the film leaves the viewer with a “bitter taste.” (Wood 63)

According to Wood, Shadow of a Doubt presents the image of the very typical suburban family with an atypical member, and this tactic is used in the process of undermining American babbittry and small-town values. (Wood) The Newton family has the stereotypical patriarchal family dynamic; Joseph is the provider and Emma is the homemaker. Their image is meant to symbolize familial perfection until an addition is made: Uncle Charlie. Prior to his introduction he is discussed as quite the incredible gentleman. Young Charlie speaks of him as a sort of hero to her; however, after his arrival to Santa Rosa, he is almost immediately portrayed in a different light during the “survey” scene. He discusses his dislike of being photographed and he also has random fits of psycho babble throughout the film which seem to go unnoticed by all but Young Charlie. Wood asserts Uncle Charlie represents evil. His arrival to Santa Rosa displaces his wholesome male counterpart, his brother-in-law Mr. Newton, and darkens the purity of the Newton family. (Wood)

The motif of incest, though not overt, is prominent in the film as well as Young Charlie seems to idolize her uncle to the point of possible infatuation. It seems Hitchcock purposefully paired these two characters to build a “pure vs. evil” contrast between two seemingly similar individuals.

Wood points out there are many features of the film that work against Hitchcock’s subversion. For example, Uncle Charlie is from the city, not from Santa Rosa. This exemplifies an invasion of evil in small-town life rather than a preexistence of it. (Wood 69) Furthermore, Uncle Charlie’s psycho pathology is linked to his childhood head injury rather than his upbringing, and his death at the end of the film depicts the purging of evil and the perpetuation of familial purity. (Wood 69) This idea is further enforced by Young Charlie’s definitive relationship with Jack Graham. (Wood 69) Despite these examples, Shadow of a Doubt ultimately portrays a dim view of the “All-American” family. Sin, perversion, incest, and death leave this pure small town shrouded in darkness, and depart the viewer with what Robin Wood refers to as a “bitter taste.”

Works Cited
Lewis, Jon. American Film. 1st ed. New York City: W. W. Norton & Company, 2008. 164-168.

Shadow of a Doubt. Dir. Alfred Hitchcock. Perf. Teresa Wright, Joseph Cotten. DVD. Universal Pictures, 1943.

Wood, Robin. “Ideology, Genre, Auteur.” Film Genre Reader II. Ed. Barry K. Grant. University of Texas P, 1999. 59-73.

Peace, Love
Evan

MCS Lecture Series: Jed Dietz & Laney Solomon

"Preparing for a Career in the Media: A Media Professionals Talk"

I attended another MCS lecture last night in the Skylight Room at the Commons. Jed Dietz was the first to talk. He spoke about a film festival moving to Baltimore and he also gave some tips about getting ahead in the film industry. His main points were "show up on time and do more than you are asked." I had never thought of pursuing a career in visual media, I think of myself as more of a writer; however, he made the industry sound quite appealing. His lecture made me wonder if I could dabble in visual arts and I began reflecting on my experience in Digital Multimedia...I think this could be a stimulating side project.

Laney Solomon spoke second. I found her lecture was uninspiring and boring. She talked about gearing a print media focus toward advertising. This didn't seem to be a very tempting career path. I honestly had very little desire to listen to her.

Peace, Love
Evan